BARBADOS PM TELLS AG HOLDER RAUL CASTRO WANTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000315 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019 TAGS: OVIP PREL CU XL SUBJECT: BARBADOS PM TELLS AG HOLDER RAUL CASTRO WANTS TO WORK WITH THE U.S. Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. D. Brent Hardt, reasons 1.4 (b,d ) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, who met with Raul Castro one on one for two hours in mid-May, told Attorney General Holder that he was "impressed by the degree to which Raul Castro is interested in working with the United States." Given Barbados' long-standing good RELATIONS with Cuba, Thompson said that Barbados would be willing to "make itself available" to do whatever it could bilaterally or through CARICOM to facilitate discussions between the United States and Cuba. Attorney General Holder reaffirmed the U.S. interest in reaching out to Cuba, but said the U.S. needs to see some sign that Cuba is serious about wanting to change its relationship. End Summary. -------------- Raul Wants to Work With Us -------------- ¶2. (C) In a pull aside meeting prior to broader bilateral meetings with the Barbados government (septel),Prime Minister Thompson told visiting Attorney General Eric Holder that during his recent three-day visit to Cuba (May 11-14) he found a genuine expectation at all levels that a change in relations with the U.S. was imminent. "Cubans are optimistic that something will change," Thompson noted, though he said everyone expects there will be stumbling blocks along the way. Thompson held a two-hour one-on-one meeting with Raul Castro at the end of the visit, and told the Attorney General that he was "impressed by the degree to which Raul is interested in working with the United States." He said Cuba was "pleased" with the dialogue that is now taking place with the U.S. and would like to expand that into other areas. ¶3. (C) The Attorney General affirmed to Thompson that the U.S. would like to reach out to Cuba. He pointed out that the President has already taken important steps in loosening restrictions on travel and remittances, and has taken heat within the U.S. for these steps. He added, however, that change could not be unilateral: the U.S. needed to see some indication from Cuba that they truly wanted change. While it appeared there were indications that Raul Castro wanted change, it was not clear how much leeway he had to pursue it with Fidel looking over his shoulder, the Attorney General observed. -------------- �0A;Thompson Favors Big Gesture -------------- ¶4. (C) While recognizing the POLITICAL difficulties surrounding the Cuban issue, PM Thompson counseled against a "horse trading" approach with Cuba. "Right now, there is sparring going on, parrying on both sides over small, discreet things," Thompson explained. "But you can't do one for one. Horse trading won't lead to change." The problem, he elaborated, was that for Cuba the historical scars were too deep from years of Spanish colonialism, U.S. domination, and the embargo for Cuba to be able to pursue a one-for-one approach. "Cuba's position is always going to be that it suffers from the embargo." By contrast, Thompson argued, if the embargo goes, there are automatically a series of things that Cuba would have to do to accommodate the economic and commercial changes. Their whole idea of how they trade and engage with the rest of the world would have to change, he maintained. -------------- --- Barbados and CARICOM Willing to Support Dialogue -------------- --- ¶5. (C) Given the President's recent opening on remittances and travel, PM Thompson conveyed to the Attorney General Barbados' willingness to "do whatever we can do as Barbados or with CARICOM" to facilitate dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba. The Attorney General thanked Thompson for the offer, and noted there were things the region could do to encourage Cuba to respect the same sort of rights that countries elsewhere in the Caribbean guarantee their citizens. The Charge noted that the best way to avoid the appearance of the "one-for-one" horse trading between the U.S. and Cuba would be for CARICOM countries themselves to take on the role of advocates for democracy, a free press, and release of political prisoners. He urged the PM to use his influence on behalf of the POLITICAL prisoners, whose continued detention was such an anomaly within the Caribbean region. The Attorney General concluded that how we navigate this process of change would be complicated, but he welcomed the active engagement of the countries in the region to help guide Cuba toward a more open and democratic future. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Despite Thompson's clear impression that Raul Castro desires to change the relationship with the U.S., he was skeptical that Fidel shared this enthusiasm. Asked whether he believed Fidel genuinely wanted to end the embargo, Thompson smiled and acknowledged that Fidel was so locked into hostility to the U.S. and dependent upon the embargo that he may well wish to see it continue. That was another reason he believed a grand gesture on the part of the U.S. was essential, as Fidel could continue to create stumbling blocks and control the process if we pursued a step-by-step approach. Thompson's offer to support a dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba reflects a long-standing CARICOM aspiration to play a role in bringing the U.S. and Cuba together. The problem with this aspiration, however, is that to date, no country within CARICOM has been willing to speak frankly with Cuba about democracy and human rights and to use their supposed influence to support the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people. HARDT